Paper short abstract:

Kobanashi, a traditional Japanese performing art, was introduced to a Japanese course at a university. The lesson was devised in order to let the students experience Japanese culture even in the online setting. This report examines the second-year practice based on an interview and a questionnaire.

Paper long abstract:

In 2021, Kobanashi, a traditional Japanese performing art, was introduced to a Japanese course at a university, as the study in Japan program had been cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. The lessons which were devised in order to let the students experience Japanese culture even in the online setting, were highly evaluated and thus repeated in the next year with a number of improvements. In this report, the second-year practice of Kobanashi lessons are examined based on an interview to the guest lecturer and a reflection questionnaire by the students.

According to the questionnaire, the Kobanashi lessons were again highly evaluated. While some students stated that it would be better to learn acting in the classroom, others commented that online learning was good because acting in front of other people could cause embarrassment. In addition, Kobanashi lessons as an online experiential learning is discussed in the report by comparing the practice of the first year and the second year, as well as the learning effects analyzed along with the improved lesson contents. The major changes from the first year to the second year are the following five points.

First-year lessons:

- Students read 10 Kobanashis before the lessons.

- Plenty of background knowledge such as its history was introduced.

- The guest lecturer gave oral feedback to the students while watching the videos of students’ Kobanashi performances.

- Students recorded a video of their Kobanashi performance once.

- Participation in Kobanashi lessons was not counted for the course grade.

Second-year lessons:

- Students watched a video of a Kobanashi performance and explanation by the guest lecturer before the lessons, read 10 Kobanashis and chose their favorite one.

- Less background knowledge was introduced, focusing the lessons more on the acting and telling of Kobanashi.

- Students’ Kobanashi performance videos were viewed in class after the guest lecturer had given written feedback to the students.

- Students recorded their performance of Kobanashi for the second time after receiving feedback.

- Participation in Kobanashi lessons was counted for the course grade.